[Knowledge and attitude of adolescent girls regarding folic acid use]

To determine the adolescent's knowledge and attitude on the use of folic acid to avoid congenital neural tube defects.

Three hundred and three (303) adolescent students from two different schools, one private and one public, were asked to complete a pre-test survey. After completing the survey, a lecture was given addressing the importance of folic acid and the benefits of taking this vitamin at an early stage to avoid neural tube defect. Two weeks later a post-test was administered to evaluate the knowledge acquired. The variables were grouped based on the knowledge of folic acid used, the attitudes toward folic acid consumption and the economic level of the participants.

On the pre-test the adolescents demonstrated 52.5% of knowledge on the use of folic acid. After the educational conference, the tested knowledge increased to 87.5%. Eighteen percent (18%) of the adolescents reported on the pre-test that they consumed folic acid; this result increased to 69.3% on the post-test. On the pre-test, 31.7% of the participants related folic acid as an etiology of neural tube defect. Following the post-test, 96% of the adolescents were able to provide correct answers about the benefits of folic acid.

Less than 50% of the adolescents recognized that folic acid is a vitamin. More than 80% of the surveyed adolescents do not consume folic acid. In general, the majority of the adolescents did not know the benefits of folic acid during the pre-conception period.